


Can't Take my Eyes off You

by agoodpersonrose



Series: Nice To Meet You [8]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, First Kiss, First Meetings, If You Squint - Freeform, M/M, Meet-Cute, Singing, Songfic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:41:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24700018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agoodpersonrose/pseuds/agoodpersonrose
Summary: Rose Apothecary holds it's first (and hopefully only) Open Mic Night, and an attractive young stranger signs up to sing.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Series: Nice To Meet You [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1768825
Comments: 22
Kudos: 182





	Can't Take my Eyes off You

**Author's Note:**

> This is the eighth work in a series of Meet-Cutes I'm writing this month. Everything is the same except that David and Patrick didn't meet at Ray's for various different reasons.

Ever since the Opening Night, the foot traffic in the store had died down massively. It’s not that David is freaking out about it; except he definitely is. After a third day in a row standing around in the empty store by himself, he calls in support.

“You can’t keep getting me to do this for you.” Stevie says as she enters through the front door, two take-out coffee’s in her hand. “I do have my own job as well, you know.”

“Okay, but who is checking into the motel at midday?” David asks taking one cup thankfully like a starved man and holding it to his lips.

“Why can’t you just get the coffee yourself?”

“I can’t just close the store in the middle of the day- what if someone comes to buy something and I’m not open?”

Stevie frowns as she sips on her own drink. “Does it really matter that much?”

“I can’t afford to miss customers right now. I’m barely breaking even as it is.”

He bites his lip nervously as she looks at him, her eyebrow quirked thoughtfully. “Is it that bad already?”

David breathes deeply, pulling a sad face as he looks at the ground. His business acumen is a sore spot for him still, and he hates admitting that he’s struggling. But this is Stevie, and she understands that, so he opens up. “Not really. But I have to be able to survive for a year without making a profit. I read that in a book that Alexis suggested for me. I just- I’m worried that people aren’t coming in here because I, maybe I make them uncomfortable or something?”

Stevie nods slowly, she looks around the store deep in thought. “You might be right about that.” She circles the central display a couple of times, poking around the products and knocking the odd one out of place just to get a reaction out of David. “Have you considered holding an event or something? Like, with alcohol, and music maybe, to get people to come into the store.”

“We have some vendor presentations and special guest evenings coming up, but they won’t be starting for a couple of weeks yet.”

“How about an Open Mic Night?”

David is silent for a moment, looking at her closely and waiting for the punch line that never comes. “I think maybe I would prefer going bust.” He says blankly.

She snorts, turning to him on her heel to fix him with a judgemental glare. “You know, we used to have Open Mic Nights at the café when I was younger. They were always super busy; the whole town used to turn up. Imagine all the money you could make from a night like that.”

David hesitates, thinking it over. He is getting nervous about running the store alone, and an event like that could bring an impressive amount in; enough to keep him calm before the routinely arts and craft classes and local vendor visits begin. He pulls a moody face and groans regardless as Stevie watches on, drinking her coffee serenely.

“Okay, I’ll admit. You might be right about that one.” He says after a while, pulling a face as if the words are causing physical pain.

“I’m right about a lot of things.” She looks at her watch and clicks her tongue. “I need to get back to the motel and take over from your Dad. You should set it up though; I think it might work to get people into the store and make them feel more comfortable, so--”

“Hmm.” David admits, watching as she heads to the door. “Do you want me to ring you up for the hand cream you just took.”

“Consider it payment for my services.” She says as the door swings shut behind her.

David rolls his eyes and heads around the counter to the shop phone, dialling Ronnie’s number and listening to it ring.

***

David crawls through the process of getting a permit as if putting it off would solve the problem, but after an embarrassingly quiet weekend in the store, the situation is officially deemed dire, and he focuses all his attention on planning the event.

It’s decided that a Wednesday evening in the following week will be put aside for the first Rose Apothecary Open Mic Night. People will be able to sign up before, or on the night, to perform their talent in front of an audience.

Fliers are handed out, and David contacts friends and family, as well as some major vendors that he thinks might be interested, to ensure that there is a decent crowd. If David is going to embarrass the image of the store with this ridiculousness, he’d better be making some good money out of it.

Finally, the Wednesday rolls around, and David spends the whole day switching between serving customers and those who come into the store to enquire about the event, and setting up the small platform stage in the back corner. He drapes decorative bulb lights in the background and borrows chairs from the town hall to set up in the space.

It starts at 5 o’clock, and soon enough, the store is filled to the brim with townspeople. It’s arguably more impressive than opening night, as people are more willing to stay longer, and to stock up on products they are already familiar with.

Organising and running the event by himself stretches David pretty thin, but he manages to focus most of the attention on the check-out counter, so whilst he is doing various things at once, he only has to be physically in one place at a time.

Roland approaches, looking suspicious, and David immediately groans.

“Dave!” He says, “This was a great idea. I’m sure you already know this, but I have a large number of talents. Including some that wouldn’t be suitable in front of a crowd, if you know what I mean.”

“I wish I didn’t” David says through a forced smile. “What do you want me to put you down for, Roland?”

“Gosh, there are so many talents of mine to pick from, what do I choose?”

“Well, there are only two more performance slots so I would make your mind up quickly if I were you.”

Roland um’s and ah’s for a few more minutes, before going in search of Jocelyn; “She knows my skills better than anyone, huh David. I just have to pick between the sensual yoga presentation and the street dancing.”

“I think you handled that very well.” Stevie says as she approaches him.

“I can’t believe you made me do this.” David moans pathetically. “Why didn’t I just let the store fall gracefully from power? At least then it would be looked back on as a worthwhile establishment.”

“It’s working though isn’t it? How many slots do you have left anyway?” Stevie leans over the desk to peek at the corkboard.

“Just two left now.” David says. “Roland will want to take one of them once he’s decided which of his many talents he most wants to showcase.”

Stevie pulls a disgusted face but still looks amused.

“Well, can you put Twyla down for one of them? She texted me saying she’s coming over from the café in a minute and wants to do some magic, so--”

David quickly scribbles her name down on one of the final slots, thankful to have something other than Bob’s beat poetry on the list.

They are interrupted by Ray approaching the desk, looking hopeful. “David!” He says energetically, as always. “It’s so wonderful to see how well you’re doing. If I had known the store would be such a success back when I was helping you fill in your business licence, I might have invested in it myself!”

“What a shame that you didn’t!” David says, wincing through a smile and shaking his head at the thought, but Ray doesn’t seem to notice.

It’s then that he looks at the man Ray has brought with him. He’s young; younger that David at least, and he is strangely familiar despite not having met him before.

“Oh, how rude of me!” Ray says, waving his arms out as if to display the man to the two of them. “I don’t suppose you’ve met Patrick yet. He’s been working for me for a couple of months now, he’s a small business consultant!”

“Hi,” The man says, smiling politely, and David returns the expression almost against his will.

“Patrick was just wondering if you had any slots left for your little talent show!”

David pauses, “First of all, it’s an Open Mic Night, there’s a difference.” He sees Patrick trying to cover a laugh at that, “And secondly, unfortunately all the--”

He’s cut off by Stevie slapping him on the arm. “You’re in luck!” She says, “There is one slot left, the closing slot! What’s your talent, Patrick?”

Patrick looks between the two of them, sensing some aggravation, but slowly replies. “Um, I brought my guitar with me, it’s in the car. I’m a singer.”

David sighs, giving in, and writes his name down in the last column. “You are apologising to Roland for this.” He hisses at Stevie, who puts her hands up innocently. “What sort of thing are you intending on singing, Patrick?”

“Well, I have some original songs I’ve been working on.”

David’s face immediately scrunches up in distaste, his curiosity in the man crashing from vaguely attracted to no longer interested. Patrick seems to follow this facial journey with amusement rather than concern.

“But then I thought, why don’t I just tune down some classic rock, you know. AC/DC maybe, sing an acoustic version of one of the classics?”

“Oh- the classics.”

Stevie gapes, looking between David and him with eagerness, a smirk gracing her lips.

“Hey, Dave!” Roland says, coming over with his arm up. Stevie intervenes before he can interrupt, and leads him away, presumably to break the bad news to him. Ray slips away as well, and the two men are left alone momentarily.

“What are you actually going to sing?” David asks, staring intently at the other man, who blinks innocently at him.

“You’ll have to wait and find out, won’t you David.”

“I need to know. For the form.” He lies, waving his pen around. “I can’t just leave it blank.”

“I don’t think you really need to know, David. But just so you don’t have to leave it blank, you can just write who I’m dedicating it to on there.”

“Oh, um- Who are you dedicating it to?” David asks, his heart sinking in disappointment as he considers the various suitors Patrick might be entangled with. He just hopes it’s not Jake, although he isn’t here, so that would be improbable. Still.

“You’ll have to find out when I climb on stage.”

“So, you’re saying there is nothing for me to write in the box, then?”

Patrick just shrugs and smirks at him.

“How long have you been working with Ray?” He asks after a moment of it being made clear that he won’t be getting any answers to his question. “Surely if you’re a business consultant I should have had my meeting with you?”

Patrick hums, leaning more casually against the other side of the counter. “At first I was technically only a business consultant for Ray’s businesses; one of which is business consulting. So, I consulted on his consulting.”

“Sounds inspiring.” David jokes with a small grin.

“You have no idea.”

“What would you rather be doing?”

Patrick hesitates before replying, looking around the store casually for a moment before catching eyes with David again. “Something like this, actually. I went to college hoping that one day I would be able to use the skills I learned to aid the setting up of my own small business- something that would be a part of a community, and really provide a service for others. Somehow along the way I lost all my individuality and ended up helping other people aiming to do the same thing.”

“That must be disappointing for you.” David mumbles quietly. “But hey, if you’re ever looking for a job at a start-up business give me a call. We- I could really use someone that’s good with the numbers so that I can stop lowering myself and my business down to doing events like this.”

Patrick grins, “Events like this are crucial, David. They are all about community outreach.”

David rolls his eyes, “Mm, but at what cost though?”

This earns a laugh, and David watches Patrick’s eyes scrunch up with interest.

“How come I’ve never seen you around here?” David asks after a moment. “It’s a small town and you said you’ve been here a couple of months.”

Patrick looks surprised by this question, and maybe a little disappointed?

“Oh, I have seen you around, David. Maybe you just haven’t been seeing me.” He says slowly.

David pauses and thinks back. Suddenly the memory of a man holding the café door open for him three days in a row comes to his head; of a man jogging past the motel on early mornings and waving as David walks to the store; of a man stopping in his car at a turn in the road to let David cross even when there was no crossing there.

It comes very rapidly to David’s head, and he realises he’s been seeing Patrick everywhere, but never really looking at him.

“Oh,” He mumbles, flushing red, “I have seen you around. Like, a lot. Why have I never spoken to you before?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been asking myself the same question.”

They catch eyes for a moment, and David likes to imagine that some sort of energy exchange is taking place, as he distracts himself from the fact that this man is about to get up on stage and sing to his actual sweetheart. A partner probably, that could have been David if he hadn’t been so in his own head, and focused on the store, neglecting the opportunity to connect with other for the past few weeks.

“David,” Stevie says, coming up hesitantly as if afraid to cut in. “You probably want to introduce the first act; it’s almost six.”

He nods, snapping himself out of his trance, and smiles apologetically at Patrick who shakes his head softly and disappears into the crowd somewhere.

David jumps up on the stage, steeling himself in the process, and looks out at the waiting faces of the people of Schitt’s Creek. Ronnie is in the front row, watching him with her judgemental eye, the Schitt’s and Roses are hovering together at the back, and he can see Twyla slipping in the door to take a seat, just coming off her shift at the café.

He ignores the butterflies in his stomach and takes a deep breath, reaching to re-adjust the microphone.

“Hi, hi. Um, can I have your attention, please.” He says, tapping on the front until it makes a loud muffled noise. “Hi, thank you so much. I’m sure we all know why we’re here; I also know that you’re all aware that this was not my first choice of an evening, but here we are.”

There are some agreeable laughs at that, and David uses them as fuel to continue. “I want to thank you all for coming, I know a lot of you have signed up to perform which is great to see. I’m gonna start you off by inviting Bob up here to do some of his beat poetry.” He manages to get the end of that sentence out without throwing up, which he considers a success, but he certainly can’t prevent the distasteful look on his face as he utters the words.

He steps of the stage, initiating the applause for Bob and slipping down into a corner to watch the performance.

It truly is worse than he could have imagined, and he thinks the same thing for most of the performers on the stage that night, including his Dad’s unfortunate attempt at a roasting routine which fails to make anyone but himself laugh.

Despite the miserable attempts at talent taking place on the stage, the plan seems to be working, and in the gaps between David jumping back on stage to invite the next performer, he cashes up a considerable number of products to people he wouldn’t usually expect to see in the store.

Finally, Ted clambers off the stage after a really sad comedy routine, and David is able to introduce the final performance.

“Um, hi. Thank you, Ted. For that education on all the things that have been found inside a dog.” He makes an uncomfortable face and sees Stevie laughing at him from across the room. “Before I introduce our final performance of the evening, I just want to say thank you to everyone for coming, it’s been so great to see you all together in the store and I hope this is one of many events that you’ll attend at Rose Apothecary. Without further ado, Patrick is going to sing a song on his acoustic guitar.”

David passes Patrick as he climbs onto the stage and offers a bad wink in his direction. He grins, and moves to stand back by the counter, curious (and a little jealous) to see who he will be singing to.

“Hi everyone. I want to thank you all for having me. I know I’m a new face here for a lot of you, but I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful night and finally get a chance to meet everyone.” He says, “I wanted to sing a song for someone I’ve been seeing around a lot recently, and that I’ve had a lot of feelings about. I don’t know if this will get his attention, or whether it will be super embarrassing for the both of us, but desperate times, so- I’m just gonna go for it.”

He strums the guitar gently as if to check that it’s tuned and turns to the microphone.

When he sings, his eyes land directly on David.

_You’re just too good to be true,_  
_Can’t take my eyes off of you,_  
_You’d be like heaven to touch,_  
_I wanna hold you so much,_  
_At long last love has arrived,_  
_And I thank God I’m alive,_  
_You’re just too good to be true,_  
_Can’t take my eyes off of you._

David glances over his shoulder awkwardly as if to look for someone stood behind him, but he’s leant against the desk so it’s an unrealistic thought. When he looks back, Patrick is smiling and still staring straight at him.

He can feel his skin prickling and his face heating up. But he can’t break his eyes away from Patrick’s. He’s a stranger; David truly didn’t know him before tonight, and yet he’s so familiar, he can’t help but be entranced by the man.

_And let me love you, baby,_  
_Let me love you._

He finishes the song, looking bashful for the first time in his performance, and smiles as the room claps, dropping into a comical bow as he moves to the side of the stage.

People are still milling around the store casually, and David gets distracted at the cash desk as he checks out several more purchases in a daze. Eventually, they start heading out, and David places several plastic bags by the door to encourage people to put their rubbish in to minimise the work he will have to do after closing.

He can sense Patrick’s presence as he does so; the man is standing by the counter talking to Stevie. Ray heads over for a moment and David worries that Patrick might leave without saying goodbye but thankfully he doesn’t, saying something to placate Ray and remaining steadfast in his position.

Finally, the last group leaves the store, Stevie winks suggestively at David as she passes him which he rolls his eyes at, but blushes again despite himself.

He turns the sign and steps cautiously back towards Patrick, who has stood to attention, looking nervous. “So--”

“That was weird wasn’t it?” Patrick asks, his eyes betraying his panicked state as he waves his hands around desperately. “I thought it would be weird. I just- I didn’t know what else to do. I’ve seen you around a lot and every time I try to say something, but I kept losing the nerve, and I asked Ray about you enough to make it kind of weird, he said he had mentioned my name to you a couple of times but still nothing, and it was kind of a last ditch attempt to get your attention? Which I know sounds really creepy but--”

He’s cut off by David pressing a soft, completely chaste kiss to his lips, which effectively silences his rant.

“Oh--” He breathes, eyes blown wide as he stares at David’s lips as if they hold the secrets of the universe.

“Yeah.” David says, nodding as if there is something to agree with. “Now we’re both forward.”

Patrick breathes a laugh, “I guess I finally got your attention then, huh?”

David nods. “You’ve got it, and you can keep it.”

“Is that a promise?”

David pulls a face, “Might be a bit early for that sort of commitment.” He says, “But I don’t think I’ll be able to miss you again. I’m sorry it took so long.”

“Could have been worse.” Patrick says with a shrug.

“I didn’t- It’s not that I never saw you, I- I remember seeing you, I just, I didn’t think to- I didn’t presume- I wasn’t really looking for you.”

This time, it’s Patrick cutting David off with another soft kiss.

“It’s okay, you see me now.”

“I’m looking for you now.” David agrees soberly.

Patrick laughs lightly, as if he is surprised by those words, and David smiles tightly, trying to keep the tears at bay.

“Can we- Do you want to talk?” Patrick asks, reaching out a hand to brush his fingers against David’s knuckles in a loose touch. “We could, um- go for a pizza, or a drink or something?”

David takes a deep breath and nods, “I do- But can we talk tomorrow?”

“We can talk whenever you’d like.” Patrick says easily, squeezing his hand reassuringly. “Maybe we could do lunch tomorrow? At the café?”

“Sure, lunch sounds good.” David says with a nod. “I’ll look for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated!! Only a couple more left in this series!
> 
> The version of the song that Patrick is inspired by the Joseph Vincent cover on YouTube which I found accidentally and just had to fit into one of these fics!


End file.
